Kate Middleton.Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

Claudia Acott Williams, the curator behind Kensington Palace’snew photography exhibitionLife Through a Royal Lens, recently revealed that it was a family member who first sparked Kate’s interest in photography — the royal’s paternal grandfather, Peter Middleton.

“Her grandfather was a very good photographer,” Williams said, according to theSunday Express.“When she was a child, he would show her his slides. It was him who taught her how to take photographs.”

Peter, the father of Kate’s dad Michael Middleton, was a former Royal Air Force pilot who died in November 2010 at age 90.

The Duchess of Cambridge, 40, is often behind birthday portraits of her three children —Prince George, 8,Princess Charlotte, 6, andPrince Louis, 3 — and other family moments…and she’s evenimpressed professional photographerswith her work.

Arthur Edwards, who has photographed the royal family since the 1970s, previously shared that he’s a “great admirer” of Kate’s snapshots.

“The picture that I love most that she’s done is William and the three children on the swing,” he said about the photo shared in June 2020 to celebratePrince William’s 38th birthday. “I would have killed to have taken that picture.”

He continued, “Everybody’s laughing at their mum, and you know that only a mother or a father could get that picture, and it’s an absolute winner. Charlotte with her arm around daddy, you know, ‘daddy’s girl.’ It’s a lovely picture, I was so full of praise for her on that.”

Edwards also praised Kate, 39, for the 2020 project in which shephotographed Holocaust survivorswith their grandchildren.

Edwards added that Kate has worked on her photography skills, making her more than just a “citizen snapper.”

“Her pictures are beautifully composed, they’re beautifully lit, and she’s just got the best subject in the world, of course. But she delivers,” he said. “I’m a kind of fan of her now — a fan of not just photography, but the way she’s totally just made that role so brilliant. She’s done a great job being the Duchess of Cambridge. And one day she’ll be the Princess of Wales, and one day she’ll be the Queen, and she’s just perfect for it. Just perfect.”

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The royal also encouraged others to pick up their cameras with herHold Stillphotography project, which captured images of life in lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 100 finalists werepublished in a book.

source: people.com